Southern bobuck
The mountain brushtail possum, or southern bobuck (Trichosurus cunninghami ), is a nocturnal, semi-arboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae native to southeastern Australia. It was not described as a separate species until 2002.
Both the mountain brushtail possum, T. cunninghami, and its cousin the short-eared possum, T. caninus, are generally reported to inhabit wet sclerophyll forest in south-eastern Australia along and to the south and east of the Great Dividing Range of eastern Australia from southern Victoria to south-eastern Queensland. They typically dwell at altitudes greater than 300 metres. Bobucks are medium-sized (2.5–4.5 kg),semi-arboreal, nocturnal marsupials.
The mountain brushtail possum shows little sexual dimorphism. Mating occurs within a 2–3 week period during autumn (March–June). Female oestrus is highly synchronised, and most females will give birth to one offspring each year. Males do not appear to provide any care to the young. The young emerge from the pouch after several months and are then carried on the back of their mother. Over the summer (December to February), young begin to accompany their mothers on foot as a first step, as it were, to full independence. Neither males nor females will reproduce until they are at least two years of age. There is evidence that female offspring are often philopatric while young males have been found to disperse up to 8 km. Upon reaching reproductive maturity, the mountain brushtail possum will retain the same home range for life.
Its longevity is amazingly high : in fact it is perhaps the longest lived marsupial species.
Recent research indicates that the mating system of the mountain brushtail possum is variable. Intensive study of two mountain brushtail possum populations found that one of these populations was polygynous, while the other was monogamous. The two populations lived within 2 km of each other, yet the group dwelt in a linear habitat strip along a roadside that had escaped logging for over 100 years, whereas the monogamous population inhabited a forest patch that had been logged 40 years ago. To date it remains unclear whether this difference in mating system is because of the geographical shape of the habitat or the quality of its resources.
